A pit in a bag: why Russians have become more likely to choose ready-made housing
When choosing a new building, Russians began to value certainty more than the opportunity to purchase an apartment at the very start of sales. Now not only the price is important, but also the time of the move, future expenses and the opportunity to evaluate the finished object in advance. This shift is taking place against the backdrop of changes in the mortgage market and may affect the strategy of both buyers and developers. "Izvestia" found out what is behind the change in demand and whether the new trend will continue.
How have Russians' preferences changed?
""In January–August 2026, the number of registered equity participation and purchase and sale agreements in the primary market in Russia increased by 3% year-on-year," "Avito Real Estate"" analytical center told Izvestia.
In August, Russians registered 50.6 thousand contracts, which is 8% less than in July. The largest number of transactions occurred in the Moscow region, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Leningrad and Sverdlovsk regions. The most noticeable dynamics was recorded in Irkutsk (+21%) and Ryazan regions (+16%), as well as in Altai (+15%) and Krasnoyarsk (+11%) territories.
At the same time, interest in apartments in ready-made houses has grown. In January–August 2026, such facilities accounted for 24% of sales - 4 percentage points more than a year earlier. In the last month of the period, the average rate in Russia reached 25%.
"In Moscow, in January–August, apartments in rented houses accounted for 21% of transactions — 7 percentage points more year-on-year. In the Moscow Region, the figure was 24%, an increase of 3 percentage points over the year, the analysts said. — For the buyer, this segment provides an opportunity to evaluate the finished apartment, environment and infrastructure before completing the transaction, as well as reduce the waiting time for moving. At the same time, available primary market instruments, including government-subsidized mortgages, may apply to such facilities."
The trend was also confirmed by Mikhail Kalashnikov, Deputy General Director of "Unistroy". According to him, people began to carefully evaluate the entire economics of the transaction: the cost of rent before moving, the cost of repairs, the financial burden and the time it will take before actually settling in.
— A ready-made apartment makes it possible to see the house, courtyard and common areas before the transaction, understand the timing of the settlement and plan repairs in advance. It also allows you to more accurately assess the financial burden and the period when you will have to pay for a new and current apartment at the same time," he said. — This is especially important for those who first need to sell their homes.
In August 2026, the square meter in new business-class buildings rose in price in ten of the 16 million-plus cities, and the total number of transactions decreased by 28%. This is stated in the Pioneer study and bnMAP.pro .
—Voronezh has become the leader in terms of housing appreciation, where the average price per square meter in business segment transactions jumped by 67.4% year-on—year from 157.8 thousand to 264.2 thousand rubles," said Evgenia Vinichenko, Director of Pricing and Analytics at Pioneer. — Yekaterinburg is next with an increase of 28.3% and Novosibirsk, which added 18.7%.
Prices have dropped in six million-plus cities. Krasnodar is the most affected: the square meter here has fallen in price by 30.5%, to 160 thousand rubles, and the number of transactions has decreased by 42%. Prices also fell in Samara by 14.8%, Nizhny Novgorod by 10.5%, Rostov—on-Don by 7.9%, Chelyabinsk by 6.2%, Kazan by 3.6%.
— The peculiarity of the real estate market in million-plus cities is that most of them are in mass-market new buildings. Business class is not widely represented, and not all megacities have a premium segment," the founder noted. bnMAP.pro Irina Dobrokhotova.
Why did customers switch to ready-made
The trend is primarily related to the changing economics of purchasing, said Alexey Artoshin, Commercial Director of "Glavstroy Regions". The price difference between an apartment at the start of the project and an object at a high stage of construction is in some cases no longer sufficient to compensate for the long wait.
— In addition, finished apartments are becoming a more valuable product due to a reduction in the supply of finishes, - said the expert. — For the buyer, this is an opportunity to move faster and understand in advance the amount of repair costs.
According to "Avito Real Estate", in August, 62% of new buildings put up for sale were offered with finishing: 46% — in the pre—finishing version, 16% - in the finishing. Another 38% of the lots were sold without finishing. The growing interest in pre-finishing may be related to the desire of developers to maintain a relatively affordable price and at the same time offer housing that requires less cost and time for repairs.
The same logic works in favor of the "new secondary": the finished object allows you to reduce the waiting time and evaluate the apartment in advance.
After the advent of project financing, developers began to have pricing strategies agreed with banks and dumping at the excavation stage became problematic, Yulia Bocharnikova, executive director of the federal company "Floors", explained the situation.
— A few years ago, buying at the start of sales allowed you to save about 25-30%, and sometimes even more compared to housing at the final stage. This attracted investors: as the construction progressed, the cost of the facilities increased and partially offset the cost of renting before getting an apartment," she said. — Now the situation has changed: guaranteed low prices at the excavation stage are less common, and the difference between the cost of primary and secondary housing is no longer so great. As a result, investors' interest in such investments has decreased.
Now the buyer has become more selective, he looks, analyzes, compares, considers the economics of the purchase, said Denis Zhalnin, CEO of the development company "People".
— In order for the buyer to decide on the "excavation", it is necessary to offer him a really scarce product, — he said. — If a person understands that tomorrow there may be no apartments with the right layout or specific characteristics, he is ready to enter the project at an early stage. Therefore, the task of the developer is to interest the client even at the stage of the idea, to accurately meet his expectations and, most importantly, to meet them as construction progresses.
Also, the expert noted, developers should be offered additional incentives for purchase at the excavation stage, including installments. At the same time, the client must clearly understand what benefits he gets by agreeing to a deal at an early stage.
According to Yulia Bocharnikova, the shift in interest in ready-made houses is natural in the current market conditions.
— This is, of course, a problem for developers, since they need to fill escrow accounts in order to reduce the burden of project financing, — she noted.
In her opinion, the situation will continue in the future: the purchase at the excavation stage no longer gives those advantages in terms of price and profitability that were several years ago.
How will changes in family mortgages affect the market
""In September, the discussion of new conditions for the "Family Mortgage" may again affect the activity of those who are considering the possibility of making a deal before the changes take effect," says Dmitry Alekseev, Managing director of Avito Real Estate's primary real estate business.
The program parameters have been changing since October 1.: The rate and maximum loan amount will depend on the number of children and the region, and the subsidy period will be limited to 15 years, Mikhail Kalashnikov recalled. For families with one and two children, loans will become more expensive in most regions, while conditions for those with many children may be more profitable.
"Therefore, after changing the program, I would expect an even more attentive attitude to the economics of buying," he said. — The client will consider not only the cost per square meter, but also the initial payment, the monthly payment, the period before moving, the cost of rent and repairs. This will increase competition not so much between primary and secondary construction, but rather between different options within the new building market itself.
Ready-made and ready-to-rent facilities have an advantage in such a situation: access to primary market tools remains, but at the same time it is possible to see the apartment in advance and estimate the terms of the move. At the same time, buying at an early stage of construction will still remain attractive for some customers due to the lower entry price or the absence of the need to move in the near future.
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